The sparkly new Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands opened at the weekend with the site's managing director promising the local community will benefit.

Peter O'Halloran said the centre had created 240 jobs for the area, two-thirds of which were new. "The centre will bring real physical benefits to the local community," he said.

He also championed the new 60 acre community park, which opened on Friday, and the three new buses that Mercedes has supplied to ferry visitors from Woking to Weybridge plus a flood compensation scheme to protect high risk houses in the area.

The site will offer the chance for children to get behind the wheel.

A Mercedes spokesman said: "If children are mature and tall enough (1.5m) they can take their first drive at Brooklands."

The new 2.5km allows drivers to test drive models, hone their skills in wet conditions and test their handling of 70 different vehicles. The 10 acre off-road site also allows drivers to navigate inclines and different terrain in an controlled environment.

The interactive displays show how Mercedes has shaped the automotive industry since the early 1900s.

The children's zones are state-of-the-art, including one where a user's finger acts as a computer mouse.

They are also an educational tool, equivalent to key stage 3 level.

In the Maybach suite there is a Mercedes SLR on show. It recently recorded 175 mph at London's City airport and it's yours for £332,700 - on the road.

The 100 room five-star hotel, part owned by David Coulthard, will open in 2008. Mercedes expect 300,000 visitors a year to the 155 acre site.